Gaston Rieff became the first ever Belgian Olympic champion when he won the 5000 m race at the London games in 1948.The feat was all the more impressive in that he achieved it at the expense of Emile Zatopek who had just won the 10,000 m. They finished the race at a sprint and Reiff won it by a short head. The Belgian then chose to retire from competition after having beaten two middle-distance world records.